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5.04.2009

general tso FAIL

In a fey fit of culinary inspiration, Brian and I decided to try our hands at making some General Tso's chicken...the yummy spicy red-sauced Chinese dish that can't be beat.

I thought this would be an appropriate venture because we had basically everything we'd need - not to mention some chicken that needed to be consumed. We've tried our hand at some basic Chinese dishes, so it seemed a good time to step up the game.

It all started out well enough. We got the chickens fried and battered no sweat. When it came time to make the sauce, things were looking up. It smelled good, I had the heat on the right setting, and we were getting really hungry.

The last step of making the sauce is combining the flavorful stuff you've been cooking with an oil. When I did this, something happened. They never combined. And the flavorful sauce started getting darker and darker. It was also getting thicker, which I thought was good.

It was, however, very very bad. Almost immediately things got very sticky and stringy. In a hurry, we tossed some of the chicken in to coat, and things just got weirder.

Stringy, super-sticky-stuck-together, and pretty quickly, hardened.

Brian was brave and bit down first. Reaction: not happy. It was CRUNCHY. And reportedly tasted like charcoal.

Hi, there!

I'm Ashley, a single mama to a darling little boy, trying to find my stride in everything from sleep training and lentil soup to knitted socks and theology. Join me as I do some wondering, some reading, a little bit of pot-stirring, and LOTS of praying. St. Theresa of Avila puts it nicely: The feeling remains that God is on the journey too.